<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Red-Eye by rude_but_at_least_im_ginger</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29484237">Red-Eye</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rude_but_at_least_im_ginger/pseuds/rude_but_at_least_im_ginger'>rude_but_at_least_im_ginger</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adoptive Parent Hatake Kakashi, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), BAMF Tsunade (Naruto), Big Brother Kakashi, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Death, Child Soldiers, Childhood Trauma, Confused Nara Shikamaru, Creepy Orochimaru (Naruto), Creepy Shimura Danzou, Dai-hachi-han | Team 8 (Naruto)-centric, F/F, F/M, Good Boyfriend Nara Shikamaru, Kidnapping, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Orochimaru Being Orochimaru (Naruto), POV Original Female Character, Parent Hatake Kakashi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Hatake Kakashi, Shimura Danzou Being an Asshole, Slow Burn, Therapy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 23:15:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,023</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29484237</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rude_but_at_least_im_ginger/pseuds/rude_but_at_least_im_ginger</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Hatake Kakashi goes out on a typical ANBU mission only to bring home a not-so-typical child from a clan having long thought to be extinct. Mirai and Kakashi stumble through figuring out how to be a family while Mirai accidentally brings down criminal organizations, intentionally starts to bring down blind hatred, and makes many unique and different friends along the way.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aburame Shino &amp; Hyuuga Hinata, Gaara/Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura &amp; Hatake Kakashi &amp; Uchiha Sasuke &amp; Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura &amp; Uchiha Sasuke &amp; Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura/Hyuuga Hinata, Hatake Kakashi &amp; Original Female Character(s), Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>98</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Refugee</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hatake Kakashi, as a twenty-year-old man, was already quite experienced in many things. He had been made a genin when he was five and had lived through an age of war that was so terrible it left him scarred on the inside and the out. The Copy-Cat nin had believed that he had experienced all he could in life, that everything from this point forward would be more of the same. He was in ANBU and went on plenty of missions when he wasn’t guarding Uzumaki Naruto from the shadows; this mission was supposed to be like the others. A simple tracking and apprehension mission of a group of rogue nin from Iwa that were making trouble in the Land of Fire. </p>
<p>When Kakashi appeared at the camp's edge in the dead of night, he decided that it was definitely not like any other mission, despite the ease of it when he started. </p>
<p>Moving silently, Kakashi had knocked out the first member of the group with ease and moved to the next one who stirred from his sleep for one reason or another and was now staring at Kakashi with wide eyes as the reality of his situation hit, “Intruder!” He had managed to get out, waking the other shinobi and kunoichi before Kakashi managed to knock him out too. By the pair, they had their backs to a covered cart and had drawn their kunai, looking to defend whatever they had. </p>
<p>The Kunoichi sneered, her face twisted into something fierce, “You can't have her; her power is ours.” Kakashi was now curious as his gaze focused on the cart in interest. </p>
<p>There wasn’t supposed to be anyone else, just the four rogue ninjas. Sighing at the misinformation, Kakashi lit up his Chidori and, within moments, had hit both ninjas with enough lightning to knock them out for a while. Pulling out four sealing scrolls, Kakashi methodically sealed away the four rogue ninjas in the stasis scrolls and packed them away. Then, he focused on the cart, kunai in hand, as he tore the sheet off. </p>
<p>Inside, a little girl no older than six was seated with bond hands and her eyes blindfolded. She looked worse for wear, bruises and cuts covering what skin could be seen and was covered in dirt from head to toe. Her hair was matted with dirt and blood though a few strands showed that she was likely blonde. Kakashi hit the lock with his Chidori, causing the young girl to jump and cry out in shocked fear. “I’m sorry, I was only undoing the lock. I want to help you. Can I untie you and take off your blindfold?” He asked slowly, unwilling to scare the girl who had abilities that he didn’t know of. </p>
<p>Hesitantly, the young girl nodded, and so he reached forward and cut the bonds on her wrists and ankles before pulling her out and taking the blindfold off. When she opened her eyes, they were a ruby red color with a purple slitted pupil that he immediately recognized from word of mouth to be the Ketsuryugan, a Kekkei Genkai that was believed to have died out. Holding his hands up to signify he meant her no harm, the girl stared for a while longer before the red bled from the whites of her eyes and her pupils became circular and black, leaving only her irises with the ruby color from before, “Why are you helping me?” </p>
<p>Shrugging, Kakashi looked around, “Well, I didn’t realize you were here; I was sent to stop them from hurting more people and figured I could help you out too.” Kakashi said with a shrug, “What’s your name?” </p>
<p>“Chinoike Mirai,” She said softly, watching Kakashi closely. </p>
<p>Kakashi smiled under his mask and nodded, “People call me Hound, I’m a Konohagakure shinobi. If you come with me, I can get someone to heal you up, and maybe we can find your family.” </p>
<p>At that, the little girl looked down and shook her head, “I don’t have a family, Hound-san. They told me I was never to return home.” She murmured. </p>
<p>Not quite knowing what to say about that, Kakashi awkwardly patted her shoulder and stood up, “Well then, that’s more reason to come with me.”</p>
<p>Smiling slightly, the girl nodded and allowed Kakashi to swing her onto his back before taking to the trees towards Konoha. It didn’t take long for the girl to get some sleep; probably not have gotten too much stuck in the small cart for who knows how long. By the time they reached Konoha and Kakashi was racing towards Hokage Tower, the dawn was just breaking, and not too many people were out. Not that anyone saw him, he isn’t part of ANBU for nothing. </p>
<p>Stopping just outside the Hokage’s office, Kakashi shook the girl awake, who looked around her new surroundings in shock. “We’re going to meet the leader of my village and then head to the hospital, okay?” He told her as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and nodded with a frankly adorable yawn. </p>
<p>Knocking first, Kakashi stepped into the Hokage’s office with Mirai following behind him. He came to a stop in front of Sarutobi’s desk and bowed, an action that Mirai hesitantly followed before clutching onto Kakashi's pant leg tightly. “Hound, I assume the mission was interesting then?” The Hokage asked with mirth in his eyes as he glanced at the young girl attached to Kakashi’s leg. </p>
<p>“I completed the mission and apprehended the missing-nin. They are in these scrolls,” Kakashi said as he placed the scrolls on Sarutobi’s desk, ignoring Mirai’s confused gaze, “The rogue nin also had a little girl hostage. She has no family who wants her, so I decided it would be best to bring her here. This is Chinoike Mirai.” </p>
<p>The Hokage visibly straightened at the clan name, obviously having a little more insight than Kakashi did on the Chinoike clan if his interest was any indication. “Mirai-san, It’s nice to meet you. My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage of Konohagakure.” </p>
<p>Eyes widening slightly, Mirai bowed her head slightly, “Nice to meet you, Hokage-sama.” </p>
<p>Speaking up, Kakashi put a hand on her head to calm her down after her hands tightened minutely, “I was going to bring her to the hospital to be checked out. Did you need anything more, Hokage-sama?” </p>
<p>Shaking his head, Hiruzen hummed, “No, I’ll speak with you later, go and get Mirai-san some medical attention.” </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Kakashi sighed from where he was sitting in Mirai’s room at the hospital. She had been admitted due to malnutrition and dehydration and was now sleeping peacefully. She had taken a shower after her cuts and bruises were dealt with and looked ten times younger and more delicate than she had before. The door opened to reveal Hiruzen, who stood near the door, “She looks better.” He commented lightly. </p>
<p>Humming, the ANBU agent stood and walked over to him, “What do we do with her now?” </p>
<p>“I’ve called a meeting with the council; we’ll decide from there how we’ll proceed. Do you know if her family is dead or missing?” </p>
<p>“She said she was told to not return to her family. So whether they’re dead or in the wind doesn’t really matter for her, considering.” Kakashi said in a whisper as he looked over at the girl and sighed. This was the first time he had gone out on the mission and came home with a little girl possessing a Kekkei Genkai thought to have died out, that was for sure. </p>
<p>Sighing, Hiruzen leaned against the wall, “More than likely, she’ll be allowed to stay in the village, though she’ll need to be placed with a strong shinobi in case she loses control of her Kekkei Genkai. They’ll probably push for her to attend the academy, too.” standing straight, the Hokage smiled, “Keep watch over her; I’ll update you as to what is decided.” </p>
<p>When Kakashi turned around, Mirai’s eyes were open and watching him, “You heard all that?” She merely nodded. Sitting down again, Kakashi looked over at her and sighed, “try not to worry about it too much, Mirai-chan, the council will figure out something that is best for you.” </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Sarutobi Hiruzen despaired that the council would ever come to an agreement about the little girl that Kakashi brought to the village early that morning. It was at least decided that she should stay in the village, but now the question was who would take care of her. </p>
<p>“The Uchiha would have the easiest time taking care of her in case she activates the Ketsuryugan. We were the ones tasked with exiling her clan in the first place.” Fugaku argued. </p>
<p>Danzo narrowed his eye at the leader of the police force, “That’s exactly why the Uchiha shouldn’t take care of the girl. It may turn her away from the village if she found out the people responsible for her clan’s exile were placed in charge of watching her. I can take the girl; she won’t get one over on me.” </p>
<p>“Enough!” Sarutobi snapped finally. “She is a child and hasn’t shown any sign of aggression towards the village or her assets; we will treat her as such. Her family abandoned her, and right now, she needs someone to take care of her with the ability to handle it if she accidentally loses control of her Kekkei Genkai. I think that either the Hyuuga or the Uchiha would be best suited, but she would need to be with a Clan Head. Hiashi, Fugaku, can either of you take the child on?”</p>
<p>Both men considered it and came to the conclusion that their councils would decidedly not be impressed if they showed up with a little girl possessing a visual jutsu and insisting that she live with them. “There is a third option,” Shikaku spoke up from his place. Since the meeting started, he had been quiet, his eyes narrowed as he observed the proceedings. </p>
<p>He now had everyone’s attention as he offered a solution to their adorable little problem. “Hatake Kakashi is a strong shinobi that possesses the Sharingan, and he already has a connection with the girl. Trying to separate her from him would be difficult, and putting her into a clan without a visual jutsu could be dangerous. We could have him take care of the girl.” </p>
<p>“Hatake Kakashi is a jounin, and in ANBU, he isn’t home enough to take care of a child.” Koharu pointed out. </p>
<p>Shikaku shrugged, “She can stay with someone while Kakashi is out on long term missions. Besides, he’s on Naruto’s guard, so he doesn’t get too many of those anyway. My family, of course, is willing to offer her a place to stay while Kakashi is away, and I’m sure others share my sentiment.” </p>
<p>Fugaku nodded, “My wife and I wouldn’t mind watching her from time to time. She’s the same age as my son, so they’ll get along.” </p>
<p>The other clan heads nodded in agreement at the idea while Danzo looked more than put out. Sarutobi nodded at Shikaku and Fugaku, “That’s a good idea. You two will trade off who’s place she stays at while Kakashi is away. I’ll go tell Kakashi the good news.” </p>
<p>With that, the matter had been put to rest, and Sarutobi swept out of the room while Shikaku and Fugaku got together to speak more about when Mirai would stay at their houses. As the Sandiame walked towards the hospital, a smile snuck onto his face at the thought of Kakashi’s face when he realized he'd been saddled with the duty of raising a little girl. Entering the hospital room, Hiruzen smiled at Mirai and nodded to Kakashi, who had stood at his arrival. “Hound, the council came to a decision. Mirai is welcomed to stay in the village and will stay with Fugaku-sama or Shikaku-sama when her guardian is away on missions. The decision was made that you should be her guardian due to your unique abilities and the fact that you two already have a connection.” </p>
<p>The ANBU agent went stiff at the last sentence, and the room went deadly quiet before Kakashi sighed and nodded, feigning nonchalance as he nodded, “No problem, Hokage-sama.” Next to him, Mirai’s face lit up as she grinned brightly at the shinobi. </p>
<p>“Great, the medics said she should be good to go. Why don’t you show her around? Rat?” Another ANBU agent appeared from where he was hidden, eliciting a soft gasp of shock from Mirai, “Give Hound the clothes I had you acquire for Mirai-san.” Within seconds the clothes were in Kakashi’s hands, and Rat was once again hidden from sight. </p>
<p>Looking over at Kakashi with interest, Mirai tapped his arm, “Can you do that?” </p>
<p>“I have some things to get done; I hope you like it here in Konoha, Mirai-san. Fugaku-sama and Shikaku-sama should be reaching out to you soon to discuss her care while you’re on missions.” </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Kakashi had never felt more blindsided than in that moment. He was only twenty years old, and they expected him to take care of a child? He was a killer who had some serious emotional baggage and seemed to be cursed to lose everyone he ever gets close to. Not exactly good material to raise and care for a child. </p>
<p>Except…</p>
<p>Except when Mirai grabbed his hand as he signed her out of the hospital and stared at him with her wide, red, adoring eyes, he couldn’t help but feel happy that it was him watching her and not someone else. Then he remembered that Minato-sensei’s son was living alone in the red light district and a wave of guilt washed over him, not for the first time since he decided not to take Naruto on when he was fourteen. </p>
<p>“We’ll have to take the rooftops, so people don’t see me in my ANBU gear. Once we get home, I can change into the Jounin uniform, and we’ll get you some clothes and walk around Konoha for a while.” Kakashi told Mirai as he swung her onto his back after they left the hospital. </p>
<p>He waited for the girl to nod and felt her grip tighten as he leaped towards the roofs, quickly crossing through the village before landing on the balcony of his apartment and undoing the traps to let himself in. Once inside, he took off the dog mask, aware of Mirai’s interested gaze when he revealed his masked face underneath. “When I’m not wearing the hound mask, people know me as Hatake Kakashi. So don’t call me Hound if there’s no hound mask.” He told her as he set the mask down and placed it and his ANBU weapons on the table. Mirai was already dressed in the clothes that Sarutobi brought her, which made her look adorable, not that Kakashi would admit that. Sighing, he motioned her to follow him down a hall. “This is my room, and your room will be this one, okay?” </p>
<p>“Okay, Kakashi-niisan!” Mirai chirped with a smile. </p>
<p>Freezing slightly, Kakashi regained his cool and coughed, nodding, “Great. I’m going to get changed and then we’ll go. Stay here.” He told her sternly before heading into his room to change into his jounin uniform. </p>
<p>Niisan. She called him Niisan. Huffing, Kakashi started changing his clothes as he groaned. This was definitely not good. She was already attached to him, and Mirai was just too damn cute for him not to become attached to her. There were no two ways about it, Sarutobi Hiruzen was going to dropkick Kakashi into making connections with people whether the Copy-Cat nin wanted to or not. </p>
<p>Deciding there wasn’t much to be done about the situation and that the girl would at least be with either him or with two of the arguably most terrifying clan heads in the village, Kakashi resigned himself to just doing everything possible to ensure that she would be safe. Right, that’s what he would do. Simple. </p>
<p>Stepping out of his room, he found Mirai in exactly the same spot that she had been when he left, having taken don’t move very seriously, and he felt the desire to awe at her almost overwhelming. “Come on, let's head out.” He decided on, determined to at least attempt to maintain some of his scary ninja image. </p>
<p>Grinning, Mirai took his hand and walked next to him with a slight skip, the dress Hiruzen had found for her swaying around her knees while her blonde hair bounced livelily. Kakashi was already grieving the death of his reputation now. </p>
<p>His grief only grew as she stared at the Hokage Monument in awe while the four stone faces watched over the village. “That’s so cool! Kashi-niisan, who are they?” She asked as she pointed at the monument.</p>
<p>“Those are the four Hokages of Konoha. The Shodaime, Senju Hashirama, Nidaime, Senju Tobirama, Sandaime, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Yondaime, Namikaze Minato.” Kakashi said, pointing at each of the faces as he named them. </p>
<p>“So, did I meet the Yondaime Hokage?” </p>
<p>Stiffening, Kakashi shook his head, “No, the Yondaime Hokage died six years ago, you met the Sandaime, who took over again after the Yondaime died.” </p>
<p>Nodding, Mirai smiled, “I think it would be cool to have your face on a mountain. Hey Ani, can we go to that merchant? His clothes look pretty.” She said, changing the topic for Kakashi as he looked over at the stall and nodded. Delighted, Mirai started tugging him along as they approached the tailor. </p>
<p>Mirai chose mainly red clothes, though there was a kimono top that was silver in color that caught her eye. After looking at Kakashi, she seemed to have come to some sort of conclusion because she picked that up as well. After the clothes shop, they picked up some shoes, and Kakashi bought her a ruby necklace before they decided to stop for lunch at Ichiraku Ramen. </p>
<p>“Hey, Kakashi-san! Who’s your little friend?” Teuchi asked from behind the bar as they took their seats. Ayame looked over and smiled at Mirai brightly.</p>
<p>“Teuchi-san, Ayame-san, this is little Mirai-chan. Mirai-chan, this is Teuchi-san and Ayame-san, they run Ichiraku.” Kakashi introduced them, Mirai smiling shyly before leaning closer to Kakashi, something she’s done every time a new person approaches her. “We’ll have two Tonkotsu, please,” Kakashi told the pair, who nodded as they cooed over how adorable Mirai was. </p>
<p>Things were pleasantly quiet for only a little while longer until an orange streak came barreling in and jumped onto the seat next to Mirai, who startled a little as she tightened her grip on Kakashi and stared at the newcomer. Naruto, unaware of how his sudden appearance affected the other two customers, grinned at Teuchi, “Hey old man, can I have the usual, please?!” He asked with a wide grin. </p>
<p>“Sure, Naruto, just settle down a bit, you startled Mirai-san.” Teuchi sighed as he started another ramen. </p>
<p>Looking next to him, Naruto smiled widely at Mirai, “Hi! I’m Uzumaki Naruto, and I’m going to be Hokage someday, believe it!” He greeted, thrusting his hand out happily. </p>
<p>For a moment, Kakashi worried that Mirai might actually faint from fear but was pleasantly surprised when she smiled back at Naruto happily, “I’m Chinoike Mirai; it’s nice to meet you, Naruto-san! Are you really going to be like those faces on the mountain? That’s so cool!” </p>
<p>For a moment, Naruto stared at Mirai in shock and glanced at Kakashi like he expected him to berate him for speaking to Mirai before he regained his smile and placed his hands behind his neck, “That’s right! And then everyone in the village will have to respect me!” </p>
<p>Mirai was staring at Naruto like he was the coolest person ever and beamed, “That’s awesome! Let’s be friends!” </p>
<p>Naruto promptly fell off his stool, “Naruto-kun! Are you alright?” She asked, hopping off her own stool to check on the boy who was staring at Mirai like she was the second coming of the Sage of Six Paths. </p>
<p>Getting a hold of himself, Naruto fell into a nervous grin, “Yeah, I’m fine, just clumsy. You really want to be my friend?” He asked nervously. </p>
<p>Immediately Mirai withdrew into her shell again, “I mean, we don’t have to be friends if you don’t want to be,” She mumbled while fidgeting her hands. </p>
<p>Kakashi would have laughed at Naruto’s expression if he wasn’t so filled with sorrow, rage, and guilt at the child’s disbelief that anyone would want to be his friend. “No, no! I really want to be your friend; it's just, is he okay with it?” He asked, pointing at Kakashi. </p>
<p>Mirai whirled on Kakashi with bright eyes, “Kashi-niisan! Can Naruto-kun be my friend, please?!” </p>
<p>Kakashi twitched at the wide-eyed expression she gave him and shrugged, “Sure, Mirai-chan.” </p>
<p>Grinning, Mirai hopped back onto the stool and started talking with Naruto, who seemed to be in a kind of haze from the situation. After Kakashi paid for the three of them, Naruto went off on his own with a mischievous sparkle in his eye that told Kakashi he was probably going out to pull a prank. Sighing, Kakashi figured that he would probably hear about whatever Naruto did the next morning when he was on guard duty. </p>
<p>“Kashi-niisan, why is Naruto-kun so sad?” Mirai asked, her mood more subdued than it was with Naruto. Kakashi was left wondering if she was more like the ball of energy and questions that she was with his sensei’s son or the calm little girl he saw now. </p>
<p>Watching Naruto disappear around a corner, Kakashi didn’t miss the glares of the villagers trailing after him, “Naruto is a misunderstood child by many people. His parents passed away when he was young, and the tragedy left him isolated.” </p>
<p>Frowning, Mirai huffed, “That’s dumb. It’s not his fault his parents died; it just happens that way sometimes.” </p>
<p>The look of determination on Mirai’s face did not bode well for the continued keeping of Naruto’s two S-ranked secrets. </p>
<p>Deciding it was best just to save that for another time, Kakashi mused with Mirai’s hair and eye smiled at her, “Why don’t we get something for your room, yeah? Then we can set it up before dinner.” </p>
<p>Mirai smiled hesitantly and grabbed his hand before following him to the merchant district to buy some new linens, a banner of the Konoha symbol, and a rug so her feet wouldn’t be cold early in the morning. When they got back to the apartment, Kakashi found a missive from Shikaku telling him to meet him and Fugaku at the Dango shop with Mirai after Kakashi’s guard shift. For a minute, the thought occurred to him that he would be leaving Mirai alone in the apartment for a few hours in the morning and how that was probably not good until he realized an ANBU would definitely be watching the strange little girl for a while. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Mirai found out that since she was no longer dead on her feet from exhaustion and fear, that her mind had all the energy in the world to remind her just how messed up of a situation she was in and replay it during her dreams, which was how she woke up with a startled yelp in the middle of the night while kicking her sheets away and jumping to her feet. Mirai didn’t process any information for a few minutes except breathing deeply to try and calm her heart. The next few minutes were spent reminding herself that she was safe, even though she was in a totally new place with the person she’s known the longest, having met her maybe 24 hours ago. </p>
<p>Still, the shadows cast through her room by the moon seemed to try and grab her with every breath, and every rustle of the wind was amplified, reminding her that she was all alone in her room and that anyone could just grab her like the four shinobi had that night. So with that thought bouncing around her head, Mirai decided that they would have a hard time grabbing her if she was sleeping right outside a powerful shinobi’s bedroom door. Collecting her pillow and blanket, Mirai tried to silently settle in outside Kakashi’s door when the door creaked open, and a face stared down at her. “Mirai-chan, what are you doing?” </p>
<p>It took Mirai a moment to respond since Kakashi did not have his mask on, and that alone confused Mirai a little in her haze of drowsy fear, “Um… I had a nightmare.” </p>
<p>Huffing, Kakashi opened the door wider, “Do you want to just sleep with me tonight instead?” Flushing red, Mirai looked at her hands, embarrassed to admit that she didn’t want to sleep by herself but still nodded as she picked up the pillow and blanket and allowed Kakashi to tuck her into his bed before he climbed in too. “It’s okay to be scared, Mirai-chan.”</p>
<p>“Are you ever scared, Kashi-niisan?” </p>
<p>There was a long pause of silence before Kakashi answered, “I think on some level I’m always scared.” </p>
<p>There were no more words for the rest of the night. Eventually, Kakashi’s even breathing lulled Mirai into sleep. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>The next morning, Kakashi explained to Mirai that an ANBU agent would be watching over her, even if she couldn’t see them and that he would be back to pick her up for lunch once he was done with his duty. Mirai wasn’t too bothered; she had spent a few months on her own before the group of shinobi had kidnapped her, and it had made her fairly self-sufficient. Outside of her newly discovered aversion to sleeping alone, Mirai didn’t mind spending time on her own and was okay with Kakashi leaving once he assured her he would be back. </p>
<p>Taking this as an opportunity to give back to the man who took her in, Mirai looked around the apartment before getting started cleaning. Kakashi had dressed as Hound before leaving, and there were no ninja tools left around. That was probably done on purpose, so she didn’t accidentally hurt herself, but it helped not to have to work around them. Quickly, Mirai started washing their dishes from the night before and climbed on the counters when she couldn’t reach to put things away. It wasn’t until she had dusted, swept, and moped the apartment, saving their rooms, that she realized it was actually a small apartment, and Kakashi already kept it pretty tidy. </p>
<p>Sighing, Mirai bit her lip before going to his bookshelf and browsing for something to read. Kakashi had a few books on chakra control, but a lot of it was either stuff she had learned very young or things that her chakra coils weren’t ready for yet. Moving on, Mirai found a few books on affinities and dog care strangely enough. Her eyes lit up when she got to the book with a bright orange cover that she had seen Kakashi reading while in the hospital, and she grinned. Kakashi had seemed completely enthralled with that book, so it had to be good. </p>
<p>Grabbing the book, she wandered onto the balcony and settled into the chair there before opening to the first page and starting to read. As she started, she realized quickly that there were some concepts in the book that she had heard when she was in that small village near the edge of fire country, but she had no clue what they meant or why it was important to the story. </p>
<p>A choking sound occurred, and Mirai thought her imagination must be outstanding to be able to hear what the girl in the story was doing in real life until the book was plucked from her hands by a distressed-looking Kakashi. Grinning at the sight of him, Mirai lept up and hugged him tightly, “Kashi-niisan! You’re home early!” </p>
<p>“Mirai-chan, um, it’s 12:30, when I told you I’d be back.” </p>
<p>Frowning, Mirai hummed, “Guess I must have spent more time reading than I thought I did,” Ignoring Kakashi’s strangled noise, Mirai beamed up at him, “Kashi-niisan! I cleaned the apartment and did the dishes!” </p>
<p>Raising an eyebrow, Kakashi looked into the apartment to see it was indeed spotless, and there wasn’t a dish in sight. Meaning she had also managed to put the dishes away too. Unsure how to go about the many flaws he discovered in his parenting technique or where to start, Kakashi just gulped and pushed the image of a concussed Mirai away and smiled at her. “Good job, Mirai-chan. Let me go get into my Jounin uniform, and then we can go.” </p>
<p>Mirai smiled as she looked around Konoha in interest as they walked. Kakashi had told her that they would be meeting the two people that the Sandaime had said would look out for her when Kakashi was on missions, so she was jittery with excitement. From her interrogation of Kakashi last night at the dinner table, she learned that they both had sons around her age. She also knew that one of them was super lazy and the other was very driven and traditional, but that was neither here nor there. All that mattered was that she would get friends. </p>
<p>Upon arriving at the Dango shop, Mirai zoned in on the two important looking figures in the shop that seemed like the others opposite when sitting together. One was slumped and looking like he could pass out at any time, while the other had perfect posture and was completely aware. Though both looked like they were pretty intimidating, even if one of them wasn’t showing it at the moment, so Mirai assumed that they probably had more in common than she thought. </p>
<p>Sitting down, Mirai was unsure which person to cater to and decided just to stay silent and cling to Kakashi until she got a better idea of the two. “Ah, Kakashi-san, how are you doing?” The lazy one asked. Mirai glanced around the shop and caught sight of a few glares being sent their way but was unsure whether that was because of her or something else. </p>
<p>“Eh, I’m doing fine, Shikaku-sama. Mirai, meet Uchiha Fugaku-sama and Nara Shikaku-sama, they’ll be watching out for you anytime I’m out of the village for a mission.” Mirai snapped her eyes back onto the pair, who were watching her closely. </p>
<p>Smiling, Mirai waved, “Hello Nara-sama, Uchiha-sama. It’s nice to meet you.” </p>
<p>Mirai caught the end of what sounded like an insult from one of the patrons who was leaving, but it was so quiet that she couldn’t quite make it out. Fugaku, though, stiffened along with the other three. From the way Kakashi and Shikaku were looking at Fugaku with looks of pity, she figured it was something not nice about him. “You guys seem super nice. Konoha seems to have many nice people around, like the people who run the ramen shop we went to yesterday, remember, Niisan? And Naruto, too, was super nice to me. People at my home used to be really rude and say mean things about others, but everyone here seems so far above that sort of thing.” </p>
<p>Shikaku snorted and stifled a grin, confirming that Mirai’s passive-aggressive comment that was said just slightly louder than a standard tone was well received. Or at least understood. “Niisan said that you guys have kids my age, right?” </p>
<p>Picking up that she didn’t want to continue down the petty line unless someone else said something, Shikaku picked up the conversation with a lazy smile, “Yeah, I have a son named Shikamaru who’s your age. He’s a pretty lazy kid, but he loves playing shogi, you should try to play with him sometime.” </p>
<p>“I have two sons. Itachi, my eldest, is five years your senior and is very busy with his responsibilities as a ninja. My youngest, Sasuke, though, is about your age, so you’ll see more of him than his brother.” </p>
<p>Mirai marveled at how Fugaku’s face softened, if only slightly, and beamed at them with excitement. “Really? I’m really excited to meet them! Will they be going to the Academy too? Kashi-niisan and Hokage-sama said I would enroll next year into the academy to learn how to be a ninja, and I’m really excited. Naruto said that he would be enrolling next year, too, so he can become the Hokage. It would be nice to know three people at school instead of just one person.” </p>
<p>Shikaku smiled and nodded at Mirai, his eyes more attentive and softer than the start of the meeting, “Yes, both of our sons will be enrolling in the academy.” </p>
<p>“Yay! That’s really exciting!” </p>
<p>“So this is the young girl that we heard about yesterday, hmm?” A new voice said from the left that made Mirai freeze and plaster herself to Kakashi as she looked over. The man before her was covered in bandages and used a cane. His eyes held no kindness, not even a glimmer. Mirai was immediately on edge when she met the man’s gaze, realizing that this man was not like Shikaku, Kakashi, or Fugaku. He was someone darker. </p>
<p>“Shimura-sama, I didn’t expect to run into you here,” Shikaku said. Mirai looked over to see that the relaxation was gone from his body. Though he remained slumped, his eyes were wide opened and focused on the man in front of them. Instead of looking ready for a nap, he looked like a snake ready to strike. </p>
<p>Shrugging, Shimura smiled, “I was in the area and thought I’d grab a Dango before heading off to a meeting. Then I saw you four and had to meet Chinoike-san for myself.” </p>
<p>
  <i>“Hello, <b>Chinoike-san,</b> do you mind if we get to know you better?”</i>
</p>
<p>Stiff, Mirai plastered herself closer to Kakashi and shrugged, “Hello, Shimura-sama.” She mumbled against Kakashi’s shirt, fighting to keep Ketsuryugan from surfacing. Mirai was one of the few children in her clan to have awoken the Kekkei Genkai so early, but even she knew that she didn’t have stellar control over it. When she was scared or nervous, it tended to come out without her wanting it to. </p>
<p>“Anyway, you said you had a meeting to get to? We don’t want to hold you up, and besides, I have a few things to do after this, so we need to wrap this up soon. If you don’t mind, Shimura-sama.” Kakashi said, tightening his grip on Mirai slightly. </p>
<p>For a moment, everyone was silent at Kakashi’s blatant show of disrespect before Shimura recovered, “Of course, I’ll take my leave. Mirai-chan,” Mirai felt Kakashi’s knuckles tighten further on her shirt, “If you ever need anything, ask for Shimura Danzo, I would be more than happy to help.” </p>
<p>Nodding, Mirai tucked away the information to never ask for Shimura Danzo unless she wanted something horrible to happen to her. With that, the man left, and everyone calmed. No one said a word about it, though, and just launched into explaining that Shikaku and Fugaku would trade off every other mission watching her, with Shikaku going first. </p>
<p>On their way back to the apartment was the first time Kakashi said anything about Danzo. </p>
<p>“Mirai-chan?” </p>
<p>“Yes, Kashi-niisan?” </p>
<p>“Stay away from Shimura Danzo.” </p>
<p>“Yes, Niisan.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Nara Clan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's my birthday so here's a present from me to you! Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A week after being in Konoha, Mirai found that she did really like Konoha as a whole. It was a nice village; Kashi-niisan was nice to her, if not a little awkward with emotions. After her first night, she had taken to sleeping with Kakashi whenever he was home during the night to stave off the nightmares. During the day, Kakashi had taken to bringing her to the training grounds with him when he was training, and she even got to meet one of his friends. At least, friends was the best word she could come up with for their strange relationship. </p>
<p>Might Gai was an odd person to meet but was altogether a nice guy, just a little loud and enthusiastic. Mirai was sitting on a log at the edge of the training ground while Kakashi was training when a flash of green blurred past her and came up next to Kakashi. </p>
<p>“My Eternal Rival! Are you training with the Power of your Youth?! I shall join you!” And from then on, whatever Kakashi did, Gai did twice as much with a determination that Mirai was unaware actually existed until then. </p>
<p>This continued for hours, Kakashi either trying to make the man pass out from exhaustion or simply not caring to acknowledge his presence. They seemed like oil and water, but Mirai noticed that Kakashi seemed more at ease than he had with anyone else she had met, even if it was just minutely, so maybe they were closer than he let on. </p>
<p>Still, four hours later had Mirai at the end of her rope with the pair. The first hour was interesting, the last three just had her throat dry and her stomach grumbling angrily, her breakfast having been completely digested. Huffing, Mirai set a glare upon the two, more than a little grumpy with their seemingly endless stamina and ready for something more interesting to do that hopefully involved a meal. It seemed, though, that Kakashi had realized her displeasure because he called enough about ten minutes later, citing her as the reason for Gai. </p>
<p>Any excitement that Mirai might have felt at the ending of their insane training was turned to uncertainty when Gai turned his beaming gaze on her, “Hello, Youthful Flower! How do you know my Eternal Rival?” </p>
<p>Mirai shuffled her feet slightly and shrugged, “Um, Kakashi-niisan has been taking care of me ever since I came to Konoha.” </p>
<p>Shock flowed through her body when literal tears filled Gai’s eyes, “My Eternal Rival has been caring for a young girl? That is so Youthful of him!” And with that, Gai promptly hugged her, ignorant of her limbs flailing in confusion. </p>
<p>“I- uh- yeah. Gai-sama, could you-” </p>
<p>“Gai-sama? You are so Respectful little Flower of Youth!” </p>
<p>Mirai shot Kakashi a pleading look, who had his nose buried deep in his book, being absolutely useless to her. “Thanks, Gai-sama, now uh, why don’t we all go get lunch? I’m sure you two are very hungry. And I’m sure Kashi-niisan,” Kakashi looked up at his name, eye narrowed in suspicion, “Would love to tell you all about his youthful training sessions he’s been taking me to recently.” </p>
<p>“He would?!” Gai asked as he pulled back. </p>
<p>Smiling in fake earnest, Mirai grinned, “Absolutely, he’s told me all week about how he couldn’t wait to tell you about me and his training recently.” </p>
<p>“My Eternal Rival, I have missed you too!” And with that proclamation, Gai was hugging Kakashi tightly, who looked like a fish out of water.</p>
<p>It took nearly the whole day for Kakashi to forgive her for that, but he eventually got over it. </p>
<p>Over the week in Konoha, Mirai had managed to finish Icha Icha Paradise and was planning to start the second one the minute that Kakashi was out again with his duties. For some reason, he didn’t want her reading it around him, but he had never actually told her why. Of course, there were some scenes that Mirai didn’t really get, so she just skimmed past those until the book started making sense again. So far, the main character had managed to get rid of the persistent man in his attempts to woo her by disappearing to a nearby village. </p>
<p>The problem was that the book ended there, and Kakashi seemed to have picked up on the fact that she was reading them as he had started carrying the only copy of the second book around with him, making it impossible for Mirai to find out if the girl managed to lose the guy or not. </p>
<p>That day though, Kakashi came home and set Icha Icha Paradise 2 down as he pulled out a scroll like the one he said had her kidnappers in and pulled a few sets of clothes and food, “Mirai-chan, I have a mission I need to go on that will take me out of the village. I’m going to pack here, and you go and get enough clothes for a week so you can stay with Shikaku-sama while I’m away, okay?” </p>
<p>Nodding, Mirai smiled hesitantly. She knew that eventually, Kakashi would have to leave the village, but she was hoping it would be later in the future than now. Knowing it would probably be useless to argue, Mirai left to her room, snagging Icha Icha Paradise 2 as she went. If she was going to be separated from Kakashi for a week, at least, then she was going to take something that reminded her of him. Throwing the book into the bag, Kakashi had bought her, she quickly packed all the things she would need before wandering out to Kakashi, who was in his normal Jounin uniform instead of his Hound gear. Nodding at her, he smiled and ruffled her hair, “I shouldn’t be more than two weeks, okay, Mirai-chan?” </p>
<p>“Okay, Kashi-niisan,”  Mirai said with more confidence than she felt. </p>
<p>With that, Mirai and Kakashi left the apartment and started walking towards the Nara clan lands, Mirai holding Kakashi’s hand tightly. Eventually, a forest view came into sight, and a few houses and buildings were spread around behind a wall. They entered through a gate guarded by two Konoha shinobi that had the Nara crest sewn onto their flack jackets. They had apparently known that they were coming or told to let the pair in because Kakashi and Mirai were allowed to enter without a word from the pair. </p>
<p>They approached one of the larger houses, and Kakashi knocked on the door, his hand rubbing circles on Mirai’s shoulder, putting her at ease. The door opened to reveal a beautiful brunette woman, who looked at them with a bright smile. “Kakashi-san! Please come in. Shikaku sent a missive saying that you would be dropping Mirai-chan off today to stay with us for a while. Would you like tea before you leave?” </p>
<p>“Ah, unfortunately, I need to leave fairly quickly; otherwise, I would,” Kakashi said nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. </p>
<p>The woman didn’t seem put out though and merely nodded, “Of course, I’m sure Shikaku has been running you ragged, the lazy bone. Don’t worry; we’ll take good care of Mirai-chan; you just stay safe, and we’ll see you soon!” </p>
<p>Nodding, Kakashi knelt down to Mirai, who was trying valiantly to keep the pout off her face, “Mirai-chan, don’t look so sad, I’ll be right back. Have fun with the Nara’s and don’t cause trouble. Okay?” </p>
<p>Nodding, Mirai beamed at Kakashi with an overly fake smile, “Okay, Ani. Don’t worry; I’ll be okay. I’ll see you when you come home.” Mirai was sure she was fooling no one, but neither of them commented, just hugging before Kakashi left without a word. </p>
<p>“Come on, Mirai-chan, let's get you settled into the guest bedroom, and then you can meet Shikamaru,” Yoshino said softly, placing a comforting hand on Mirai’s shoulder as she led her up the stairs and into one of the spare bedrooms that they had. “My husband and I will be in the room at the end of the hall, and Shikamaru’s room is right next to yours, so if you need anything, we’ll be here.” </p>
<p>Mirai grinned and nodded, putting her duffle down and then following Yoshino in her quest to hunt down Shikamaru. “Nara-sama? Why is this whole area gated off and guarded?” Mirai asked curiously. </p>
<p>“Ah, it's because we’re on the Nara clan land, without permission from either the clan head’s family or the council general villagers and shinobi aren’t allowed. It was something that all the clans got in exchange for joining Konoha when it was founded, a way to keep some of their individual power. Clans also aren’t required to give away their special jutsus.” </p>
<p>Mirai hummed, “So everyone in the Nara clan lives here. That’s really cool. And special Jutsu's are like my Ketsuryugan and any jutsu I use with it, right?” </p>
<p>“Yes, the clans most like you in that regard would be the Uchiha and the Hyuuga. The Nara clan works with shadows, and it's pretty cool to see. Maybe we can get Shikaku to demonstrate when he gets home. So you have activated your Ketsuryugan then, and know how to use some jutsu too?” Yoshino asked with undisguised interest.</p>
<p>Not getting the sense that Yoshino would use the knowledge for any nefarious purpose, Mirai nodded, “Yeah, I activated the Ketsuryugan when I was four and was immediately taught ways to use it. Many kids were forced to activate it young and learn techniques quickly, there was a lot of fighting, and sometimes, if my classmates activated their eyes but couldn’t learn the jutsu quick enough, they would just disappear. But if they learned jutsu too quickly, they were sent to fight.” </p>
<p>For a while, it was silent as Yoshino processed the information given to her. Eventually, she released a shaky breath, “You don’t need to worry about that now. Come on; I think Shikamaru is probably napping up a tree somewhere he thinks I won’t find.” </p>
<p>Mirai giggled and followed Yoshino outside and towards the forest on the edge of the lands. Once in the forest, Yoshino paused and let her eyes close briefly before she nodded and started walking with absolute surety. Mirai realized that she had probably reached out to sense Shikamaru’s chakra and decided to learn the useful skill later. </p>
<p>Shikamaru was indeed up a tree napping. Under him was a doe and her fawns, who were also napping. When Yoshino and Mirai entered the small clearing, Mirai was scared for a minute that they would scare the deer off. That fear ceased when the doe looked up and stood to her feet, walking over to the two newcomers slowly with her fawn following. Yoshino held her hand out for the three when they arrived at their location, and Mirai felt a grin spread across her face. “If you are careful and let her smell you first, she might even let you pet her,” Yoshino told Mirai after she was done patting the doe’s neck. </p>
<p>Determined, Mirai held her hand out for the deer and watched with fascination as the doe lowered her nose and sniffed her hand before pressing her cheek to it. Beaming, Mirai scratched the doe’s cheek and under her jaw with excitement when she noticed that the two fawns were sniffing her other hand with interest too. Once they pressed against her, telling her it was okay, she reached out and pet them too, bringing the hand she was using on the mother down so that she could pay attention to both of the fawns. </p>
<p>After a few minutes, the doe herded her babies into the forest and left, much to Mirai’s disappointment. </p>
<p>“I’ve never seen a doe allow someone who isn’t a Nara to pet her fawn on their first meeting.” A young voice said from her side, causing Mirai to jump and whirl around. <br/>The boy was wearing a blue t-shirt with the Nara clan symbol and a pair of shorts. His thick, dark hair was pulled into a ponytail and stood out in a spiky manner. His eyes were dark, and he looked tired, but there was something about him that told Mirai that he was probably very smart. He was about her height, if not a little taller though it was hard to tell with the slouching. </p>
<p>“Really? Huh, I wonder why I was allowed to pet them. Maybe she likes the new soap Kashi-niisan bought me; it smells like coconuts.” Mirai mused as she looked in the direction of the deer before turning around with a genuine, if not soft, smile. “Hi, I’m Chinoike Mirai. It’s nice to meet you.”</p>
<p>“Nara Shikamaru, it’s nice to meet you too.” He said, shaking her hand with an intense gaze. It was like he was trying to work out a particularly difficult puzzle. </p>
<p>Yoshino cut in with a smile, “Shika, Mirai will be staying with us for a week or two until her brother comes back from a mission; why don’t you two get to know each other?” </p>
<p>Shikamaru sighed and looked slightly downtrodden, probably because his nap was interrupted, but he nodded anyway. “Do you know how to play shogi?” </p>
<p><i>He’s a pretty lazy kid, but he loves playing shogi; you should try to play with him sometime.</i> Shikaku’s words rang through Mirai’s head. Nodding with a bright grin, Mirai agreed and followed Yoshino and Shikamaru out of the forest and away from the deer. </p>
<p>Once they settled in at the game board and Shikamaru finished explaining the rules, they started playing. This was when Mirai found that she was terrible at the game, but she did enjoy asking Shikamaru what he was doing and which strategies he was using. Mirai was not so full of herself to think that she ever got close to beating him. More likely, Shikamaru was toying with her and leading her strategies around in circles to avoid beating her in five seconds. It was nice, though, because that meant Shikamaru would show off every strategy, and Mirai could marvel at how cool he was. </p>
<p>After five games, though, Shikamaru got tired, and so Mirai ran upstairs and grabbed her book and settled in to read while Shikamaru napped. Yoshino was in the kitchen, so Mirai was allowed to get sucked into the novel when she heard a loud thump from the side, drawing her interest and waking up Shikamaru. “Dad? What is it?” </p>
<p>“Uh- um- nothing. I’ve got to speak with your mother real fast.” And with that, Shikaku raced into the kitchen, much to the children's confusion. </p>
<p>There was a small clatter, and then Yoshino appeared at the door, and her gaze zeroed in on the red book in Mirai’s hands. “Mirai-chan, where did you get that book, sweetie?” </p>
<p>Looking down at the pages, which were describing one of the weird scenes that Mirai didn’t really understand, Mirai shrugged. “Kashi-niisan is always reading them, and he had left his spare copies on his bookshelf, so I thought I would read it. I don’t really get some of it, but the book is okay outside of some weird scenes. I just wanted to see if she managed to get rid of the dude, but apparently, he followed her to the new village she’s in. He’s kinda weird.” </p>
<p>“Right, does Kakashi-san know that you’re reading his books?” </p>
<p>“I mean, kinda? Whenever he sees me reading them, he snatches it away, but he never actually tells me why.” Mirai glanced at the page and caught sight of one of the words that she didn’t know again, “Hey, Nara-sama, can you help me? I’ve never seen this word before.”</p>
<p>Moving over warily, Yoshino glanced down only to cough and snap the book shut. “Okay! Mirai, I promise that when you’re a little older, I’ll tell you exactly what a manko is, but for now, let's put the book away until Kakashi gets back. We have plenty of other books you can read instead.” </p>
<p>Shikaku made a strangled noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter, but no one commented as Mirai nodded and let Yoshino show her to the Nara family’s library to find a new book. “Nara-sama, are there any books in here about sensing chakra?” </p>
<p>“Yeah, this one here should be a good starting point, and you don’t need to call me Nara-sama. Yoshino is fine.” The woman handed her a thicker book and let her go back to her spot on the couch while she and Shikaku disappeared to the kitchen again. </p>
<p>After a minute, Shikamaru leaned towards her, “So did she tell you what that word meant?” </p>
<p>“No.” Mirai lamented sadly. </p>
<p>“That’s weird. Mom and Dad always tell me what words mean. I wonder why they wouldn’t tell us about that one.” He muttered, getting a nod of agreement from Mirai. </p>
<p>“Who knows, adults are weird like that.” </p>
<p>“Yeah.” </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Mirai’s first night at the Nara’s was terrible. Not for anything they did; they were nice and hospitable and amazing; it was just that Mirai had grown used to having Kakashi there to keep the nightmares away. Being alone in a bed she didn’t know, and with Kashi-niisan, who knows how far away, the nightmares returned with a vengeance. </p>
<p>The first one wasn’t horrible by comparison; it was just the feeling of suppressing darkness and being cramped, reminding her horribly of her stay in that awful cart. She woke up with a gasp, and it took about an hour for her to calm down enough to go back to sleep. The second dream, though, was something that had her shaking to the bone. </p>
<p>
  <i>Mirai was four when her Ketsuryugan had activated. She had been trained in chakra control and taijutsu before that, out of necessity so that she could be shipped out to fight once her eyes were awake, but any jutsu was a mystery to her. When one of the enemies snuck across into her camp, Mirai saw firsthand how terrifying her clan jutsu could be. </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>A girl, not too much older than Mirai, seven at the most, was cleaning her kunai blades when suddenly what looked like a spear burst from her body and sprayed blood over Mirai’s face. Within a second, the spear had collapsed to the ground, revealing it to be the girl's own blood that had killed her. Then, from the pool of blood, shot red senbons that were aimed straight for Mirai. Three hit her squarely in the stomach, but before the next three could hit her jugular and eyes, Mirai’s vision sharpened and went red. Instinctively, she held her hands in front of her face to shield herself but was shocked when all that happened was the faint splattering of blood on her arms. </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Looking over, Mirai’s gaze locked onto the shinobi. He was ten, who had his Ketsuryugan activated too and was going through hand signals to launch another attack when Mirai let out a scream of terror, anger, and anguish. Her eyes had focused on his blood rushing in his body, and all she could think of was the way the girl looked, killed by a spear of her own blood. Within the next moment, the boy was staring at Mirai in shock as his hands shook around the half-formed hand sign, a spear of his blood jutting out from his stomach. Mirai blinked, and it collapsed, but it was too late. </i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>The boy was dead, and she had killed him.</i>
</p>
<p>Mirai woke up with a startled scream and in a cold sweat from that dream. An instant later, both Shikaku and Yoshino burst through the door with Kunai drawn. “Who was here? Are you alright?” Shikaku asked urgently as he rushed towards the window, which was still closed, to see if there was anyone fleeing.</p>
<p>“What? Uh- I- No one was here. I- I’m sorry, I can’t- It was a nightmare.” Mirai finally stuttered out as she tried to pull in deep breaths to calm her racing heart. </p>
<p>It was quiet except for the sound of her own ragged breathing until Yoshino hesitantly put her hand on Mirai’s shoulder, “It must have been pretty scary for you to react like that. Do you want to tell us about it?” </p>
<p>She didn’t want to. Reliving it sounded like the worst thing ever. Mirai hadn’t even told Kakashi yet, and she trusted him the most of everyone in the village. But then the weight of everything that she had been through hit her, and she sobbed softly, “I didn’t mean to, I didn’t want to hurt him. Not really. But she was just there and alive and then dead and I- he did it. He was going to kill me too. I don’t even know how I did it, but he’s dead, and it's my fault. He was only six years older than me; she was only three years older than me. I hate my clan. I hate them <i>IhatethemIhatethemIhatethem!</i> They’re horrible!” </p>
<p>“Mirai, did someone in your clan kill a girl, and that’s what activated your Ketsuryugan?” Shikaku asked softly. </p>
<p>Looking up, Mirai sniffled and nodded, “She was on my side of the clan, and he was on the other side. And her blood was everywhere, and it was on me, and I couldn’t-” Mirai broke off and shook her head, “I can’t talk about it.” </p>
<p>While she rubbed soothing circles into Mirai’s back, Yoshino cooed at her, “That’s okay, you’ve said all you can for now. You don’t need to push yourself; it's okay.” </p>
<p>Mirai stayed silent until she was calmed down enough, “I’m sorry for waking you guys up. Kashi-niisan and I usually sleep together, and he keeps away the nightmares.” </p>
<p>“I’m not surprised. Kakashi is one of our strongest shinobi; even nightmares don’t want to mess with him,” Shikaku said with a grin, making Mirai giggle. “Why don’t you come and sleep with my wife and me? Maybe that will help.” </p>
<p>Nodding, Mirai stood up and followed them to their room, feeling safe between the two as she drifted off to sleep. </p>
<p>When Mirai woke up the next morning, it was later than usual. Shikaku was already gone, but Yoshino didn’t have to wake up quite as early as Kakashi did. Once Yoshino was awake and getting out of bed, Mirai stirred as well and groaned as she shuffled out of bed. “You’re awake earlier than Shikamaru usually is.” </p>
<p>Shrugging, Mirai yawned, “I guess I usually just wake up whenever Kashi-niisan wakes up.” </p>
<p>“Well, would you like to help me with breakfast then?” Yoshino asked, earning herself a grin from Mirai as she leaped from the bed. The pair had worked for about thirty minutes on breakfast before Yoshino went to get Shikamaru. When the boy came down, he looked like at any moment he would just fall asleep again as he sat down at the table and murmured a thanks to his mother and Mirai before he started eating. </p>
<p>After a few moments, Yoshino broke the silence, “I thought that we should go to the park today. I know Choji and Ino will be there, and it will be nice to go somewhere outside of the clan lands today. Maybe we can get lunch while we’re out too.”</p>
<p>Beaming, Mirai nodded enthusiastically while Shikamaru only grunted in response. Still, after breakfast, both kids cleaned up and prepared to go to the park, leaving thirty minutes later with Yoshino. There were a few kids around and some parents. Yoshino led them to two other women with a blonde girl and a brunette kid munching on a chips bag. “Mirai-chan, this is Ino and Choji. Ino-chan, Choji-kun, this is Mirai. She is staying with us while her brother is away on a mission.” </p>
<p>Smiling, Mirai waved, “It’s nice to meet you!” </p>
<p>Receiving similar greetings, Mirai was excited to have new people to play with when a familiar voice called her name, “Mirai-chan!” </p>
<p>Turning around, Mirai grinned when she saw a familiar blonde boy racing at her. Hugging him tightly, Mirai giggled, “Naruto-kun! Are you playing at the park today too?” </p>
<p>“Yeah! Where’s Kakashi-san? He’s usually with you whenever I see you.” </p>
<p>Shrugging, Mirai looked down as she scuffed her toe on the ground, “Ah, Kashi-niisan is on a mission right now, so I’m staying with the Nara’s. Yoshino-san, this is my friend, Uzumaki Naruto, Naruto-kun, this is Nara Yoshino.” </p>
<p>Naruto hesitated for a moment before smiling and waving at Yoshino, who seemed to pull out of whatever trance she was in to smile back, “It’s nice to meet you, Naruto-kun, why don’t you go and play with Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, and Mirai while I talk with Ino’s and Choji’s moms.” </p>
<p>So the five of them were off to the playground, quickly deciding that a game of tag would be the best and starting with Mirai being it. Mirai eventually tagged Ino, who tagged Choji, who then tagged Shikamaru. After looking around, Shikamaru sighed and laid down, apparently to take a nap. “Hey! Why are you napping? You’re supposed to tag someone, ‘ttebayo!” Naruto said as he leaned over Shikamaru. </p>
<p>In an instant, Shikamaru had tagged Naruto, who no one had been able to get because he was so fast and seemed to have endless amounts of energy and had taken off. “What- hey-!” And so the game continued, with everyone trying to outlast Naruto and failing. Eventually, Naruto tapped Ino, who was huffing as she tried to catch her breath along with pretty much everyone else. </p>
<p>“I think… we should… take a break…” Mirai huffed tiredly, noises of agreement from everyone. Naruto, not the least bit winded, didn’t want to go against the only four people to play with him without being told off by their parents, agreed and sat next to Mirai, Shikamaru on her other side with Choji next to him and Ino next to Choji. For the next thirty minutes, the five of them just talked about anything and everything. Mirai found that she really enjoyed Ino’s company, despite how bossy the girl seemed, and the pair agreed that they should play together without the boys sometimes. While Ino and Naruto were more appealing to Mirai’s energetic side, she also enjoyed Shikamaru and Choji for the opposite reasons. Unfortunately, after going through a civil war in her clan, being kicked out on her own, and then kidnapped for who knows how long, Mirai had grown up, and sometimes, she just wanted to enjoy the moment and not run around. Shikamaru was perfectly content to nap or watch the clouds, and Choji didn’t seem to mind what he did so long as he had food around. They were laid back, and it was calming and grounded Mirai.</p>
<p>The three women who had escorted their kids called for them back, Ino and Choji leaving with their moms with promises to play together soon while Yoshino stared down at Shikamaru and Mirai, grabbing Naruto as he tried to slip past unnoticed. “Naruto-kun, you must be hungry! Come on, the three of us were going to get some lunch. You should join.” Naruto nodded, unsure of the idea but knowing that he was pretty hungry- especially since he hadn’t had breakfast- so he didn’t complain. “Now, where to?” </p>
<p>“I don’t really care, mom.” Shikamaru huffed with his hands in his pockets. </p>
<p>Mirai looked over at Naruto before grinning, “What about Ichiraku Ramen?” </p>
<p>The woman noticed how Naruto perked in excitement at the name and nodded, “Sure, Ichiraku’s it is. Let’s go!” The trip there was pretty pleasant, all things considered. Shikamaru was practically sleepwalking while Mirai was slower than usual but more aware than the Nara boy. Naruto was a ball of energy as he happily talked the entire way to Ichiraku’s. Yoshino, for her part, remained quiet as she focused a stern gaze on any villager that made a move towards their group, mainly towards Naruto. It paid off, having arrived at the Ramen shop without incident and settling in. </p>
<p>“Ah, Naruto-kun! Mirai-chan! Good to see you two back! And with two more, what can I get for you guys?” Teuchi asked as he focused his attention on the quartet. </p>
<p>“The usual, please!” Naruto said with a wide grin. </p>
<p>Mirai shrugged, “A miso for me.” </p>
<p>“Shikamaru and I will have tonkatsu, thanks!” Yoshino finished with a smile. </p>
<p>“Naruto-kun, you’ll never guess what happened yesterday! I was over at Shikamaru’s house, and they have a whole forest! I know! It’s so cool! So Yoshino and I were looking for Shikamaru-kun, and when we found him, there was a doe and her babies under the tree he was napping in! Apparently, the Nara clan herds them, which is totally awesome. So then the doe came up to us, and she let me pet her, and then she let me pet her babies! Naru-kun, they were so cute!” Mirai explained animatedly to the boy, ignoring the shocked look on his face at the nickname. “Shika-kun, I don’t know how you could sleep with them right there! They’re so adorable I wouldn’t do anything but dote on them all the time if I got to see them every day.” Mirai had effectively left both boys in a state of shock as she decided that they were now close enough to get nicknames. Before Yoshino could laugh at Shikamaru’s floored expression, Teuchi had set their lunch in front of them, and no more words were spoken from the ravenous children. </p>
<p>Yoshino couldn’t help but be grateful for Mirai, who had managed to bring one of her closest friend’s son into her life.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Howls of Tragedy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Then she froze and stiffened, her smile falling and her face going pale. <br/>“What is it? What’s wrong?” Naruto asked.<br/>“Kashi-niisan is going to murder me when he finds out I fought a shinobi!” Shikamaru smirked.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Not me trying to put the ENTIRE FRIGGING CHAPTER in the chapter summary box. So now you get a little prelude because I'm "no brain, head empty" energy. Also, there is a slight trigger warning of self-harm, nothing with like self-deprecating intent, but it's for a jutsu</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was around dinner time on Mirai’s eighth night with the Nara’s when tormented howls ripped through the air. Everyone in the house had gone silent at the cries before Shikaku stood up suddenly. “I’ll go see what’s wrong, Yoshino stay with the kids,” Shikaku said, already on his way out. </p><p>“They sound sad don’t they?” Mirai murmured softly to Shikamaru, who nodded in agreement. </p><p>Yoshino was pacing nervously, her eyes wide with fear of something before turning to us with a fake smile, “Kids, why don’t you guys play some shogi?” </p><p>After a moment, Shikamaru nodded and grabbed Mirai’s hand wordlessly as he led her to the shogi board. The next few hours were spent with Yoshino seated on the couch as she glanced between the two children on the floor and the window while the two children played endless rounds of shogi. Shikamaru gave Mirai advice on strategy after every round, despite having found out at the beginning of her stay that she was a pretty terrible strategist. To her credit, Mirai at least pretended to listen to what Shikamaru said, but mostly her focus was on Yoshino and the scattered sounds of mournful howls. </p><p>By the last round of shogi, Shikamaru and Mirai were mindlessly moving pieces on a board, neither having a plan as they were overcome with worry when Shikaku had yet to return. It was nearing midnight and Shikaku had been out for six hours. The howls had stopped except for one lone ninken crying mournfully. </p><p>The front door opened and in an instant Yoshino was in between them and the newcomers with a kunai raised when Shikaku stepped into the room with Kakashi following him. Mirai gasped and ran to Kakashi with excitement, “Niisan! You’re home!” </p><p>Kakashi smiled at her and hugged her back, his grip seemed more urgent and worried than usual and he held her longer than normal too, especially since they had an audience. Kakashi wasn’t one for showing his feelings to others, making Mirai more than a little concerned about what had happened. “Niisan, what were those howls we heard?”</p><p>Shikamaru looked at Shikaku in interest as well, who sighed and lowered his head. “Inuzuka Kiba and his partner Akamaru were found dead at the bottom of a cliff this morning.” Yoshino gasped and Shikamaru looked stricken, Mirai though had no clue who this Kiba was but didn’t like the fact that someone died and had gripped Kakashi tighter, “It doesn’t seem like there was any foul play but the Police Force will be looking further into it. It sounds like Fugaku is heading the investigation himself.” </p><p>Kakashi nodded and stood up, “Yeah, he is. I’m being sent out on another mission immediately due to the circumstances. I’ll be bringing Mirai to the Uchiha compound within two hours and leave in three. Thank you guys for watching her this week. It has been much appreciated.” </p><p>The Naras nodded and Mirai sniffled but bowed her head, “Thank you for watching me, I’ll see you later!” She said, plastering a fake smile on her face when she came up from her bow. Yoshino sent Mirai a pitying look but nodded, “Of course, Mirai-chan, you’re always welcomed here.” </p><p>With that, Kakashi left with Mirai on his back and she tried really hard to not feel bitter about him leaving again. Once they were in the house, Kakashi helped her unpack her clothes from her stay with the Naras and pack new, clean clothes in silence. “This Inuzuka Kiba, did you know him?” </p><p>“No, he was only a kid, about your age. Konoha doesn’t take well to its children being hurt. If this was a murder, it's imperative that we find who did this and bring justice. That’s why I have to leave again. This mission shouldn’t be more than five days though.” Kakashi told her with a pat on her head. </p><p>Nodding, Mirai sighed and scuffed the ground with the toe of her shoe. She would miss Kakashi dearly, he was the person who saved her and her niisan, she wasn’t sure what to do without him. “I’ll miss you, but I understand. This is really important so that you can catch the bad guy.” </p><p>“Right, and then when I get home, I’ll take you out to Ramen, how does that sound?” Mirai brightened and nodded enthusiastically. </p><p>Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind as she urgently grabbed Kakashi and dragged him to the kitchen. “Niisan, you need to eat before you leave again! I’ll make some sandwiches for you to take with you and some instant ramen or something!” </p><p>“Mirai, it's okay, I have a rations pack here, that way it won’t go bad. Don’t worry, everything will be fine.” Kakashi said soothingly. “Now, let's talk about what Shikaku told me about your interesting reading material hmm?” </p><p>Freezing, Mirai crossed her arms and looked away petulantly. “I don’t understand what the big deal is, it’s just a romance. Yoshino wouldn’t even tell me why I couldn’t read it, or what manko means!” </p><p>Kakashi choked and sputtered before sighing. “Mirai-chan, uh- listen, the Icha Icha series isn’t really for kids your age because, the uh, content,” Kakashi looked up like he was searching for strength, “The content isn’t really at your level of understanding yet. Why don’t we focus on other books for now and then when you’re ready to know what- what all of that means, I’ll…. I’ll…. Tell…. You.” Kakashi finished with a strangled groan and the beginnings of a blush from what Mirai could see. </p><p>Narrowing her eyes, Mirai looked at him in suspicion, “You promise?” </p><p>“I- I promise,” Kakashi said sulkily. </p><p>Brightening, Mirai nodded. “Okay, Kashi-niisan! Guess what! Yoshino let me read a book on learning how to sense chakra and it talked about chakra control so then I read a book about chakra control and most of the lessons are for babies but there was this one lesson and I tried it and after a few missteps I think I figured it out, look! Look, are you watching Ani?”</p><p>“I’m watching, I’m watching, show me what you got kiddo.”</p><p>Focusing, Mirai flared her chakra before focusing it into the soles of her feet and working to keep her stream steady. Once she was sure she was ready, she walked across the room and put one foot on the wall, then another, and another. Eventually, she was hanging on the ceiling upside down. “See Ani! Aren’t I awesome!” </p><p>Kakashi looked a little pale but nodded slightly. “Yeah, Mirai, really cool, Why don’t we come down now, hmm?” </p><p>“No way Ani, I want to see how long I can hold it.” </p><p>A strangled noise came from Kakashi before he sighed and leaped into the air, spinning so his feet landed on the ceiling next to her. “Mirai, come on, it’s time to get down. It’s not safe to practice this without something to catch you if you fall. I’m very disappointed that you were practicing without supervision, what would I do if you hurt yourself?” </p><p>Feeling bad, Mirai looked down (or up she supposed) at her feet, not wanting to disappoint Kakashi. The loss in focus though suddenly caused her chakra to sputter and her footing to lose its hold. Eyes widening, Mirai shrieked as she headed straight for the ground before she felt a hand latch onto her ankle and yank her up. Once she was secured in Kakashi’s arms, he leaped down off the ceiling and landed lightly on his feet. “Thanks, Ani! That was so cool! I’m sorry I scared you though, I promise I won’t practice any more chakra control exercises alone without consulting you first.” </p><p>“That would be nice.” Kakashi said, his voice flat, “Alright, give me a little bit to change and shower, and then we can go. And Mirai, if you think about trying anymore wall walking, I’ll sense it and put you in some chakra dampening handcuffs. Got it?” Mirai nodded vigorously and sat down as Kakashi went to his room.</p><p>The girl blinked slowly and yawned. She was able to stay awake for so long because of the worry and the situation, but now that Kakashi was with her, she wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and fall asleep. Still, she had to keep awake so that she could see Kakashi off after he brought her to the Uchiha compound. It was easier said than done. </p><p>Thankfully, Kakashi didn’t take long getting ready, this time he was in his ANBU gear and had his mask on, “Come on, let's go to the Uchiha, and please don’t bring Icha Icha with you there. Mikoto and Fugaku might roast me alive if they think I’m teaching you anything untoward.” </p><p>Smiling, Mirai nodded groggily,  “Kay, Ani.” She said as she climbed onto his back. They were flying through the village again and this time seemed to go further than before, almost to the edge of the village. Mirai frowned at how separated it was but brightened when she saw how pretty the compound was. The guards at the gate looked at them before nodding and letting them through, just like the Nara guards had. After that, Kakashi spent no time in going towards one of the larger houses and knocking lightly on the door. </p><p>Slipping off his back, Mirai rubbed her eyes tiredly and grasped Kakashi’s hand tightly. Now his hound mask was on and he looked so much like he had when he had saved her. She thought that he looked super cool in his ANBU gear and smiled up at him. There was some movement before the door opened to reveal Fugaku, looking no less severe than he had the last time Mirai saw him. “Hound-san.” He greeted with a nod. </p><p>“Uchiha-sama, I’m dropping Mirai-san off here, please take care of her,” Kakashi said seriously. “Be good, Mirai.” He told her with a soft tone. </p><p>Nodding, Mirai sniffled and hugged him tightly. “Bye Hound-nii. I’ll see you when you come home.” </p><p>Stepping back, Mirai watched as he disappeared into the night before looking at Fugaku pitifully. “Come on, child, let's get you to bed.” He said kindly, and took her hand and led her inside. “I’ll introduce you to my sons and wife in the morning, seeing as they’re already asleep. Itachi might not be around much due to his duties with the Police Force but Sasuke should be happy for the company.” </p><p>“Thank you for your hospitality, Fugaku-sama,” Mirai said, bowing her head slightly. </p><p>“Of course, this will be your room while you stay with us. You must be tired, I’ll let you get some sleep.” With that, he left and Mirai went and got settled into her room, changing into pajamas before going to sleep. </p><p>***</p><p>The Uchiha were different from the Nara, definitely more traditional but also seemed to carry around an untamable bitterness. Mirai assumed it probably came from whatever mean things the villagers were saying about them and couldn’t help but feel sad for their situation. So, she decided to do anything she could to cheer them up, starting with bright smiles and happy greetings and ending with roping Sasuke - her new friend and partner in crime - into helping any Uchiha they saw. </p><p>Much of the first three days Mirai had spent with the Uchiha were like this. She would wake up after a little sleep, go to breakfast with Mikoto, Sasuke, Itachi, and Fugaku. Then Fugaku and Itachi would leave for the police force and she and Sasuke would go out and train. He helped her refine her kunai throwing techniques and started teaching her shuriken, which wasn’t something she had learned in her clan. Following that, Mirai and Sasuke would eat lunch either at one of the Uchiha vendors or at Sasuke’s house before going out and talking to, helping, or meeting any Uchiha that crossed her path. </p><p>No one had said anything about her self-imposed mission to make an Uchiha who wasn’t Sasuke or Mikoto smile, though from the happy looks Mikoto sent her, she knew that the woman was pleased. It was lunch on the third day when Mikoto brought up that the Nara’s would be over for dinner that night. Instantly, Mirai perked up and grinned, “Really? Shikamaru too?” </p><p>“Yes, Shikamaru and his parents will be here, so I expect you two to be on your best behavior and cleaned up. Understand?” Both of them nodded before rushing off to their rooms to clean themselves up and dress in clothes that weren’t riddled with dirt from training before coming back downstairs and announcing that they were going to the field to pick flowers for the dinner table. </p><p>“Sasuke, do you know why everyone here seems sad?” Mirai asked in confusion as she picked some wildflowers.</p><p>The boy looked up at her and shrugged, “I don’t really know. Mom and dad don’t talk about it with me and Itachi-niisan doesn’t talk about it either.” </p><p>Humming, Mirai sighed, “Well, whatever it is, we’ll just have to cheer them up! Come on, Sasuke! We have more flowers to pick. We’ll make three extra bouquets and give them to your uncle, that guy with the pretty jewelry, and that super nice lady with the sick daughter.” </p><p>“Ah, so this is the bundle of sunshine that has been running around making friends with everybody.” A new voice said. </p><p>Mirai looked over and saw an Uchiha with an amused smile at the edge of the field, “Shisui-san!” Sasuke greeted with a smile. </p><p>Walking over to the pair, the older boy knelt in front of them and ruffled Sasuke’s hair, “Hey, Sasuke-kun, who’s your friend here?” </p><p>“Shisui-san, this is Chinoike Mirai, Mirai-chan, this is Shisui-san, my cousin.” Sasuke introduced them. </p><p>Shisui smiled at Mirai and bowed his head, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Chinoike-san.” </p><p>Smiling, Mirai bowed back, “Nice to meet you too, Uchiha-san.” </p><p>Laughing, Shisui waved her off, “Please, just Shisui will do. If you go around calling people Uchiha-san here, we’ll start getting confused.” He said with a wink. </p><p>Mirai giggled and nodded, “Okay, Shisui-san, then you should call me Mirai. I don’t really go by my clan name.” She said, trying to push away the nightmares that have been plaguing her since she left the Nara’s. “You’re different from most of the other older Uchiha.” She stated as she started putting together the second bouquet.</p><p>“Most of the older Uchiha have a stick up their-” </p><p>“Shisui-kun, what are you doing here? Oh, Mirai-chan, the bouquet looks amazing, though why are you making more?” Mikoto said, having crossed the field to the three kids. </p><p>“Ah, Mikoto-sama, nice to see you. Mirai-san here was going to give the other three she was making to some of the new friends she’s been making all week. She’s been very busy if you haven’t heard.” Shisui said with his eyes alight with humor. </p><p>Humming, Mikoto’s lips twitched up, “That I had heard about. Very well, Shisui-kun, you make one while I make the other, and Sasuke-kun and Mirai-chan can work together on the last one.” Mikoto delegated as she knelt down and started bunching flowers together with a concentrated look on her face.  </p><p>Shisui sighed and Mirai kept back a giggle at his confused expression as he started grabbing flowers too. Once all four of the flowers were done, Mirai led the troupe through the compound to each of the three people that she wanted to give them to. The lady with the sick daughter smiled brightly at Mirai and thanked her profusely, along with Mikoto, Shisui, and Sasuke. Mirai just grinned, happy to see the smile, and asked about her daughter, wishing the girl well before the woman walked towards her home. </p><p>Mirai hadn’t noticed the thoughtful looks she was getting from the other Uchiha wandering around, but both Mikoto and Shisui had. They smiled at the girl who was so eager to make the Uchiha feel better, even though she wasn’t aware of what was making them sad in the first place. Once they made it back to Sasuke’s house, Shisui said goodbye and went off in his own direction while Mirai and Sasuke were herded inside by Mikoto, who put the flowers in a vase before starting dinner. </p><p>About an hour later, a knock sounded at the door and Mikoto greeted Shikaku, Yoshino, and Shikamaru before inviting them inside. Grinning, Mirai ran over and hugged Shikamaru, excitedly introducing him to Sasuke and pulling them to the living room to talk with Shikaku following. Yoshino had followed Mikoto to the kitchen, asking about dinner. </p><p>“So then I fed chakra to my feet and started walking up the wall and onto the ceiling and Kashi-nii was totally impressed, though he pretended to be annoyed with me. He asked me to come down but I wanted to see how long I could stay up there so then Ani flipped on to the ceiling because he’s just that cool. So then, Kashi was all like ‘Mirai chan it's dangerous to be up here and I’m disappointed in you for learning this without supervision and I was sad because he was disappointed in me and I lost control of my chakra! So I started falling to the floor but Ani moved super quick and caught me and we landed on the floor upright, like a cat does! It was totally awesome!” Mirai told Shikamaru and Sasuke. </p><p>Both boys had two different expressions. Sasuke for his part looked in awe and started peppering in questions about how Mirai was able to stick to the ceiling while Shikamaru looked a little sick. “Wait, you mean that you were practicing this alone in your room while I was napping?” He asked, eyes wide. </p><p>“Yup! It only took a couple of tries before I figured it out.” Mirai said with a shrug, leaving out that it was closer to a couple of dozen tries. </p><p>Groaning, Shikaku ran his hand down his face, “Dear god Kakashi is going to be insufferable about this when he gets back. Mirai-chan, maybe next time tell Yoshino or me so we can keep you from getting hurt when you want to learn new tricks, yeah?” </p><p>Beaming, Mirai grinned and nodded, “Okay, Shikaku-san! I promise!” Eyes widening, Mirai grinned, “You want to see what else I learned how to do?” Shikaku groaned but motioned for her to show him. It was best if he knew what Kakashi was going to kill him for before the Copy Cat nin could try. This time, Mirai just closed her eyes and didn’t seem to do anything until she opened them and pointed at the door, “Fugaku-sama and Itachi-san are back and will reach the door in ten seconds!” She announced </p><p>Ten seconds later the door opened and Sasuke and Shikamaru looked at her in shock. “You learned how to see the future!” Sasuke said in shock, drawing the attention of Itachi and Fugaku, who seemed shocked and confused. </p><p>“How did you know that Fugaku-sama and Itachi-san were going to come through the door ten seconds before it happened?” Shikamaru questioned with a searching gaze. Shikaku smirked when the realization hit his son and the boy deadpanned. “Idiot,” He called Sasuke, who was insisting that Mirai teach him how to see the future too, “she just sensed their chakra and has been working on learning how much distance is between them from where the chakra is.” </p><p>“Yup! No fortune-telling, I just read a book.” </p><p>A chuckle sounded and everyone looked over in shock at Itachi, who had his lips pressed together in an attempt to subdue more laughter. Sasuke huffed and looked put out, which drew Itachi over. Tapping Sasuke’s forehead, Itachi smiled, “Once you activate your Sharingan, you’ll be able to read people's actions so well you’ll even be able to predict their actions before they know them, don’t look so upset.” </p><p>At that, Mirai beamed and looked at Sasuke in excitement, “Woah! The Sharingan is so cool! You’ll be able to actually predict the future. Kinda. Still, that’s awesome!” Mirai huffed, “Man, Sasuke has the Sharingan, Shikamaru has his cool shadows and all I have is my stupid Ketsuryugan.” She muttered. </p><p>“Don’t be so quick to discount it,” Fugaku spoke up, “The Ketsuryugan is a very powerful dojutsu.” </p><p>Mirai stiffened and looked away with a darker look on her face than either of the boys had seen. Shikaku had seen it once before when she had her terrible nightmare and noticed as well that she had bags under her eyes and seemed more pale than usual. She hadn’t been sleeping recently. “The ketsuryugan is horrible and a curse.” </p><p>The two adults shared a look as Itachi wisely changed the subject, realizing that more questioning from Shikamaru and Sasuke about her dojutsu would do no good. Asking about the bouquets that Shisui had told him about, Mirai launched into telling Itachi all about her and Sasuke’s new friends around the compound, explaining them to Shikamaru too. While they spoke, Shikaku and Fugaku stepped to another room to gossip. </p><p>“So, she seems to have no love for her clan,” Fugaku commented once they were in his study and poured the two a glass of sake. </p><p>Humming, Shikaku took it and set it down, “Yeah, I told Kakashi this already but apparently it was a violent awakening of her Ketsuryugan. Apparently, there’s a type of civil war going on with the Chinoike and they started training their children to be warriors very young. An enemy not much older than Mirai snuck across lines and killed one of the warriors on Mirai’s side of the clan in front of her, using their blood manipulation. Reacting, Mirai activated her Ketsuryugan and used the same technique to kill the boy. This wasn’t more than two years ago.” </p><p>“That young?” Fugaku asked in shock and Shikaku nodded. “No wonder the girl hates her clan, that must have been traumatizing.” </p><p>“Not only that but then when she was five they kicked her out and told her under no uncertain terms that she would die if they saw her again,” Shikaku added as he finished off his sake. </p><p>“Oh dear, what a terrible life. That explains her disdain towards strife and hatred. She’s made every effort to make as many friends here as possible, I think she picked up on the tension between us and the village at the moment.” Fugaku mentioned. </p><p>Nodding, Shikaku spoke up, “Yoshino mentioned that she has also become close with Naruto, it won’t be long until she finds out about the hatred towards him too.” </p><p>“Well, the village is definitely in for an interesting time,” Fugaku said with a wry smile. </p><p>Shikaku just laughed and shook his head in amusement as they left the study and wandered towards the dining room, where Yoshino and Mikoto were setting up for dinner. “Kids, go wash up!” Mikoto and Yoshino yelled in tandem, sending all three children racing towards different sinks. </p><p>Itachi had just reentered the room with Sasuke when the sound of shattering glass and a piercing scream echoed through the house. Then everyone moved. </p><p>Itachi, Fugaku, and Shikaku were outside and launched kunai into the cloaked figure that had Mirai in their grasp, sending the shinobi falling and the girl tumbling out of his hands. Four more figures entered the fray then. “I was hoping to be able to stay out of this, but with Shikaku here there was little chance to do this how I wanted.” </p><p>The three paused at the sight of Shimura Danzo, flanked by what looked like ANBU with blank masks. Shimura had turned to look at Mirai, who stared back at him in terror. “Come on now, Chinoike-san let's go.” </p><p>“Shimura, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Shikaku growled angrily. </p><p>Looking up, Shimura smiled, “Ah, well I was going to take Mirai and blame it on the Uchiha but you decided to unexpectedly show up today and so now I’ll be forced to kill you and your families and then blame it on the Uchiha. Mirai and her lovely eyes will help to serve me from the shadows.” </p><p>Mirai was glaring at the man angrily and felt the moment she lost control, snapping and letting the Ketsuryugan take over as she made the hand signs she wished she would forget. After she had activated the dojutsu and used the clan jutsu without trying, she was immediately taught all of the clan jutsu and was expected to be able to accomplish them. The one she couldn’t master was the one that led to her being kicked out of the clan by her parents. It was also the one that she used as a knee-jerk reaction when she first activated her dojutsu and what she was attempting now. “Ninja art: Forbidden technique! Blood Spe-!” Before she finished one of the ANBU knocked her away and to the side. Focusing on him as Fugaku and Shikaku started taking on Danzo and Itachi went to fight the other two ANBU, Mirai huffed. “This is really shitty.” She mumbled, jumping away from the kunai the ANBU launched at her legs. </p><p>Getting some distance, Mirai made some hand signs and grinned, “Ninja Art: Blades of Death!” And with that, every kunai save one that the Anbu threw lifted and started whirling around in a deadly tornado at him. While the ANBU dodged that, Mirai gripped the kunai she drew towards her hand and slit her wrists, grinning as she made the hand signs needed for her next move, “Blood transformation: Red Senbon Jutsu!” The senbons launched themselves at the ANBU agent who was still recovering from the Blades of Death, landing one in his jugular, one over his heart, and a couple of others over his veins on his arms. Mirai focused and soon the blood entered and mingled with his own. Grinning, Mirai locked eyes with him and hoped that she would be able to get this right. When her father explained this technique, he had told her it was more of a feeling and that she should just know how to do it. He wasn’t the best teacher. Still, she reached out with her mind and forced her imagination onto the Shinobi, trapping him in a world of red and black genjutsu. </p><p>Two minutes later he collapsed and so did she. He was dead, she was not. </p><p>Mikoto was at her side then and ran a healing hand over her cut. Another ANBU tried to attack them then but without looking away, Mikoto took out his knees and grabbed his head in a headlock, and twisted his neck till it snapped before continuing to heal Mirai. “Can I learn that?” </p><p>“No. Absolutely not.” </p><p>“So, you’re a medic then? That’s really cool.” Mirai said excitedly. </p><p>Sighing, Mikoto smiled at her, “Yeah, I studied in the medical corps and became a field medic in the third Shinobi war. I’ve healed your cut, you’re chakra exhausted though. Come on, there is nothing more you can do, we need to fall back.” </p><p>Nodding, Mirai followed Yoshino back to where Yoshino was with Sasuke and Shikamaru and sighed, feeling exhausted from her fight. “That was so cool! Do you know other jutsus too?” Sasuke asked in a whisper from the house. </p><p>Mirai shrugged, “I guess, though I never actually mastered them all. Technically, the first one I tried to use was the only one I could never accomplish. The only time I did it was a fluke. The others I have between spotty ability to mastership over them. My clan was eager for warriors.” Mirai said bitterly, eyes focused on the scene in front of her. </p><p>More Uchiha had backed Fugaku and Shikaku up while some more of the blank masked ANBU arrived on the scene. Suddenly, the earth erupted and the blank masked ANBU along with Danzo was trapped. In between them and the Uchiha stood the Sandaime Hokage and a group of Jounin. He spoke quickly with Shikaku and Fugaku before raising his voice for everyone to hear.  “Fugaku-sama, if you would arrest Shimura Danzo for trespassing, attempted kidnapping, and fighting fellow Konoha shinobi with the intent to kill along with any and all of his present supporters.” </p><p>That was when Mirai promptly leaned against Itachi, who had come in sometime between when she had been ushered into the house and when the Sandaime got to the compound and fell asleep. </p><p>***</p><p>When Mirai woke up again, she was in the hospital and it was day. Next to her were Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Mikoto, all of them looking at her happily. “You’re okay! Mom wanted to bring you to the hospital because she said your chakra was so low and wanted to make sure you would be okay.” Sasuke told Mirai with a grin. </p><p>Shikamaru glowered at her and pouted, “Idiot! Why did you try to fight them! They were clearly stronger! You got so lucky that you beat that one guy, god Mirai! I almost had a heart attack!” </p><p>Mirai’s eyes widened before she smiled at Shikamaru, “Awe, thanks for caring so much Shikamaru! That means a lot! You’re my friend too!” </p><p>Shikamaru huffed but didn’t seem to be actually angry with Mirai so she let it go. “Where’s Yoshino-san?” Mirai asked curiously. </p><p>That was when the door burst open and a blur of orange sped at her and engulfed her in a tight hug, “Mirai-chan! Yoshino-san said you were in the hospital and I was so worried! There was a big ruckus last night and I wasn’t allowed to leave my apartment and did you have something to do with that? Why are you in the hospital? Are you seriously hurt?” </p><p>Mirai sent a helpless look at Shikamaru, who just looked the other way with a smug grin, deciding that her having to tell Naruto that she faced off a high-level shinobi and managed a win by the skin of her tooth was a good punishment. “Naruto, hey I’m fine! I was only admitted because I used too much chakra. These guys tried to kidnap me but I totally beat them up. Well, one of them, Itachi-san, Shikaku-san, and Fugaku-sama helped with the rest of them. So did the Uchiha and Hokage-sama. But the one I got was totally down for the count.” </p><p>Eyes widening, Naruto grinned and Mirai felt a sense of smugness, “No way! That's totally awesome! When I become Hokage you are going to be one of the top shinobi with me and then we’re going to scare away anyone who would want to hurt people with just our names, ‘ttadebyo!” </p><p>“Totally!” Mirai agreed and high-fived Naruto, sending Shikamaru a wink when he stared at the blond with a look of betrayal and went back to sulking. </p><p>Mirai had wanted to ask what was going to happen to Danzo, but figured now was not the time and it wasn’t the place either. She was sure Kakashi would tell her when he got home anyway. Then she froze and stiffened, her smile falling and her face going pale. </p><p>“What is it? What’s wrong?” Naruto asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Kashi-niisan is going to murder me when he finds out I fought a shinobi!” Shikamaru smirked.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>